A Blessing In Disguise
by Step824
Summary: Ai's village was far from civilization, with the myths and old traditions still on the go. She knew she had no place in the city. But she still hope that Shishido would still look perfect in a picture with their village as a background and her on his side
1. Chapter 1

**Hey yowh fanfic readers! Again I'll say that it's me Step824's cousin. I'll be using her account since I'm too lazy to make a new one for myself. :D **

**Ok so here I am trying to write a new story when I can't even finish my old ones! Darn! Well, blame it all to the romantic books I've been reading, they gave me too much ideas on new stories. **

**I'll stop talking now so you can read my precious story, haha! **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Prince of Tennis or the characters there, for if I do, I'll give Shishido a love affair! XD**

"Bang la di! Ooh la ba ni man ku ni ya! Bang la di!" Ai watched the old lady in ragged clothes pray over her grandmother lying on the bed. The said old lady with messed up jet black hair that almost reached the floor was kneeling on the ground and was chanting some words Ai didn't know even existed on the face of the earth.

Ai looked at her right only to see her mother praying so hard with her eyes shut close. She shook her head side by side. With her grandmother sick for almost three weeks now, her mother didn't had a choice but to call Lala, as what the people on their village call her, to cure their grandmother. Ai didn't like the idea but she was persuaded by her mother since their hard headed grandma wouldn't want anyone to cure her except for the so-called Lala.

"Buma! Buma! Buma!" Ai sighed out loud as Lala put some herb on the forehead of the sick one as if that was the only medicine her grandmother needed. A few moments of silent passed with Lala only kneeling in front of her grandma.

_If Granny don't get any better I'll show that Lala what real medicine is._

They live in a small village far from civilization, near who knows what mountain it is over the rainbow. See? People don't even know the name of their place. Who knows if someone even knows the existence of their place?

"Lala! How is she?" Ai's mother quickly talked to the old lady as soon as she stood up from kneeling. She saw the rinkles on her face were deeper than it is, she was wearing a frown. Does that mean something happened to her Granny?

"I can't cure her yet. I need one more thing to continue the ritual." Ai saw Lala looked at her, as if she was the one who could only save her Granny. Her eyes never left Lala as she approached her. Lala was the first one to speak.

"I need you to get something for me." A small paper was given to her and as she looked at it more, she noticed it wasn't a just a simple paper, but rather a photograph. Ai looked at the image and then raised an eyebrow at the old woman.

"A duck? We have a lot of ducks here."

"It's not just a simple duck Ai, you need to find a duck that looks exactly like it. And there is only one place for you to go in order to find it. Tokyo." Ai looked at Lala as if she had just grown another eye. Perhaps finding a duck would be okay but going as far as Tokyo only to find a creature with feathers but wouldn't fly could be called as crazy! Ai was about to protest when her mother pleaded in front of her. There is definitely wrong with the people on her village! If only she knew how to cure her own Granny.

"Fine!" She gave in at last.

"Thank you! Thank you Ai! I know you wouldn't let us down!" frowning, she touched her forehead for the migraine she was getting.

"Mom! Let go if you still want me to be able to go to that town _alive_!"

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"Freaking duck!" Looking around, she shouted in frustration. It had been three hours since she got to Tokyo and all she could see were tall things made up of bricks with lights from them, a metal with wheels underneath that only beep at her when she got on their way and people who were so dressed up as if their life will depend on how they look. To make the story short, Ai didn't like the ambiance of the city. It was too crowded and noisy. People were always on the rush and don't even have a care if they were hurting others on the way.

In addition to that, she couldn't even see any kind of the duck anywhere! She doesn't even know where to start looking! She was unfamiliar of the place.

"Oh duck, where are you?" she could only sigh and sit on the cemented floor, feeling like giving up. People were looking at her but she didn't care. She was tired that's all. Maybe out of miracle, the duck would just appear on a corner and approach her. Then they could live happily ever after! Now she sounds like crazy!

"Kya! Oh my God! Have you seen him?" Ai looked at her right and saw a girl which of her age jumping up and down.

"Yeah I did! Kyaaaaa! He's so handsome!"

"Stop it will you! He's mine now!"

"Oh come on! I can share him to you if you want! Now let's go! I heard he was still there!" Ai watched the scene of the loud mouthed girls play out. She can't believe such girls exist. It was the first time she saw girls act like that. Girls in their village were so conservative and gentle; it was even hard to hear their voices.

Her eyes followed the two girls ran and stopped. They joined the crowd of girls who could almost beat the long necks of giraffes. They were all on their tip toes and were trying to see something she couldn't see as well.

Standing up, Ai decided to see what Tokyo town girls made them that way. Maybe if she knew, she'll somehow understand them. Ai walked nearer and tip toed as well. With the height of the girls in front of her, even tip toeing was not enough.

"What the hell am I doing?" Ai was about to give up when another girl roughly pushed her way through the crowds; earning her a glare from the others. Out of the way the girl had made, Ai caught a small vision of the scene, a boy with blue cap, a girl in French braid and a duck. Yeah that was all. The girls in Tokyo were getting oh so crazy because of that? What was so important of that? It was just a boy with a duck that looked exactly like the one she needed. Tsk. How pathetic.

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After being frozen on her spot, her body acted on its own as it made its way through the crowd of shrieking girls. Some glared, some cursed while some just gave her space for they saw the panic on her face, too bad she didn't had the time to thank them.

Reaching the front, she saw all too well the appearance of the duck. She just couldn't decipher if it was really a duck or goose. Ai put the distracting thoughts behind and chased over it. She could hear some cursing and some laughing but Ai could careless. Her grandmother's life depended on the creature and being embarrassed right now could only make her mission fail.

"Aaaah!" She shouted as the duck that look more like a goose tried to jump out of her grasp. Yup, after a few minutes, she finally caught in and she smiled as she pat the head of the animal on her arms. Who knew she had a talent for chasing animals? At last her Granny could be completely cured!

She was about to get out of the place when she heard a loud shout that could almost be heard up to their village. Ai searched for the location of the shout and was surprised that the person owning it was just behind her.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING LADY? You ruined our scene!" it was a man in his mid-40's who might seem to be in a run way fashion show because of his attire. Ai flinched as she looked at the expression of the guy; he looked like he could eat her any minute now.

"Well, I-I…" the hard glares the man gave her made her stutter. She hugged the animal in her hands and looked around. That was when realization hit her.

Her eyes were as wide as saucers as she looked around her. Everyone was looking at her, some metal things with lenses where set up and some men where as pissed as the one before as they arranged some props around her. Looks like she came in such a bad time.

"Damn! That girl had to ruin everything! Now we have to start all over again!"

"Calm down Joe! It was just a small stunt."

"Small stunt? YOU CALL THAT SMALL STUNT! I ALMOST KILLED MYSLEF JUST TO GET SHISHIDO ON THAT SCENE! WHO KNOWS IF THAT GUY WOULD DO IT AGAIN?" Ai watched as another man came to calm the now on fire director of the scene. She doesn't know what was happening but she knew she'll be punished with what she did.

_Heaven! Please be kind with my Granny and let this duck reach her in time!_ She prayed on her mind her last will and testament. If she can even escape this mess, she promised to be kind and to never steal his brother's books again.

"But Shishido-san will never do that stunt again!" Ai could still hear their argument. She could hear another person in the conversation but couldn't see who for they were blocking her vision. But even though, she still watched them intently, or should I say, listen intently. For who knows if they were already planning on sending her to the other side of the world.

"Shishido please! This our last request from you!"

"Fine I'll do it! Again I'll say, this is the _last_!" And the boy finally revealed his face to her as he walked away and met her gaze.

Everything seemed to stop; people's voices seemed to just become an echo. He was staring at her with those cold eyes, but no matter how cold they were, Ai couldn't stop staring at them. It carried the charisma no one ever knew existed. She looked at every angle of his face; everything about him just seemed to be perfect. Ai's heart seemed to race, she couldn't believe she just saw a God came down from heaven. And with the sun's rays shining down on him, it just made the picture of him as a God so seem so real.

She had pitied the creature on her arms; she was hugging too tight by now. It was the only way for her to stop the tsunami of emotions inside her. She made a mental mote to thank the duck in her arms and to feed it everyday in case it can escape Lala's evil plans. Ai would make its life comfortable for it was a blessing in disguise to her.

**DONE! I know! I know! It's weird! No need to state the obvious! But, that was just who I am. WEIRDO. **

**Don't worry, it was just for the beginning of the story, it would be more normal in the future! I hope someone will review. *sigh***


	2. Chapter 2

**And I'm back with another Chapter! Haha! I'm so proud on being fast! Thanks to the boredom!**

**I would just like to thank my very first reviewer Ire! Thanks also for your advice although my cousin didn't made any move on that. Haha! Let her be! Thanks again for your concern! **

**Okay! Disclaimer! I don't own Prince of Tennis!**

Shishido lazily watched the director be on fire. He can't blame him though for the director tried his best to convince him to do this commercial shooting thing. Shishido was dragged into this after losing a bet with Atobe and Oshitari. The consequence was to do a commercial the said director had been offering, the weirdest commercial one can ever watch.

Shishido shook his head side by side. He shouldn't have joined the stupid bet. He should have known how the two can be so tricky when it comes to bets and he should have been much smarter to reject the commercial offer. Indulging himself in his blueberry juice, he felt the heat the director was emitting grew nearer. And in an instant, the said man, together with their assistant director, was standing in front of him and looking at him in pleading eyes.

He knew what they were into. They were going to convince him to do the parts_, again._ And if he's in the right mind right now, there was no way he'll ran like a crazy chicken to catch a duck in front of the overgrown crowd. The director must be very lucky he was not in the right mind. Ignoring the pleading of the loud mouthed director, he walked away and shrugged. Without any choice, he agreed to their plea, since there was no other way out of that mess anyway.

"Fine I'll do it." He stopped dead in his tracks and looked up, only to be met by a pair of purple doe eyes staring at him in awe. It wasn't the first time a girl looked at him like this, looking at him like he was an angel sent from heaven. But there was something strange in how she does it. And it made him feel strange as well, a feeling he never felt for a long time now. Shishido shifted his gaze and walked away. He just can't take the feeling of being stared at like that. Being stared at when you don't know what she was thinking of you. And there was only one person before who could do that to him.

At the corner of his eyes, he saw the assistant director talked to the said girl. He raised an eyebrow when she rejected to give back their prop, which was the duck. He saw it all, how the girl protected the duck as if a life depended on it, which was true, how they had to use force just to get the prop back, and how she cried after the duck was taken away. Shishido moved his attention to the girl near him. She was laughing hard. Perhaps it was because of the embarrassing scene the other girl was making. Then he looked around, there was not just one girl laughing but almost more than hundreds. That was when he made the move, a move he knew if he'll reject in the future or not.

"Mr. Koike." The assistant director immediately looked at him, the creature the girl was crying for in his arms.

"Yes Shishido-san?"

"Do we still need that after the shoot?" Mr. Koike eyed the duck in his arms before answering, totally confused on Shishido's random question.

"No." was all Shishido needed as an answer. After receiving the response, he slowly approached the girl crying and sitting on the ground without a care in the world. Making him earn a lot of gasps and curses. But he ignored it all.

"Hey." He made it just loud for the girl to hear his voice, and he didn't fail. The girl slowly raised her head to see the intruder of her misery and was surprised to see who it was, but did not show it. She just continued staring at him with those large purple eyes as she hiccupped and controlled her sobs.

"Clean your face or else I won't tell you the good news." Being a good girl, she immediately obeyed what he had said just like a child. Using her hands to wipe the tears on her face then smiling after. He smiled inwardly at how childlike she could be.

"Do you see that duck?" he used his thumb to point at his back, towards the assistant director's location, his gaze never leaving her. Receiving a nod in response, he continued.

"Good. I'll give that to you. But in one condition, you'll have to let us finish with it first." Happiness was evident on her eyes after his statement. And he was glad she was easy to talk to. He was about to smile when the girl's face suddenly fell gloomy.

"You guys are not gonna kill it, are you?" He could only giggle at this but still responded. The crowd could only gasp but in that moment in time, the two young beings seemed to be drowned in their own conversation that they didn't even take note of it.

"No." His eyes were showing the assurance the girl needed. And that was enough for her to trust on their agreement and give her the brightest smile she could give. And he knew that he made the right choice of helping.

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"AND CUT!" the director finally said. Shishido sighed out loud. At last it was done! He looked at his watch; it was already 10 in the evening. He never thought doing a three minute commercial will take them seven hours or so. Blame it all to the duck that couldn't be catch. If only the girl doesn't need it, he'll probably roast it for giving him such headaches. Speaking of the girl, he wondered where she was.

Looking around, he spotted her enjoying herself at a swing on the near playground; Looks like she was still not aware that they were done.

"I wonder what we'll do to this."

"Let's cook it! Haha! I bet that would suit our job well done this day!"

"I don't think you guys wouldn't be glad if people would plan on eating you right in front of you right?" he smirked as he saw their staff shiver at this. He motioned for one of them to bring the animal to him and they quickly obeyed, afraid to receive more than what his words could give.

Gently taking the duck, he glared at them one last time before getting them ran in full speed. He often wondered how hard and cold his glares are. It wasn't his plan to scare them off but, he just couldn't help it. Glaring had been his hobby, what a nice hobby huh.

Shishido calmly walked towards the playground, ready to give the duck to its well deserved owner. He saw her stood abruptly when she noticed his presence.

"Here. Were done with it." The girl took it from him in delight, earning her curiosity from him. She had been yearning for the duck the whole time around but none of them knew why.

"Do you mind f I ask you something?" Looking at her pat the head of the duck and lull it like it was a baby.

"Sure!" She said not even looking at him. He first looked at his surroundings. There was a high possibility that she might laugh at him or even to not answer his question, but he still tried. It was him who saved the duck anyway, so he had a right to know.

"Why do you need it so badly?" The girl froze on her spot and it raised his curiosity even more. He was right after all; it wasn't just for a random cause that she'll cry over an animal because of the creature in her arms.

He watched every move she made, observing her as if he can read her moves and be able to know the reasons behind her acts. He saw her felt uncomfortable under his gaze but still he continued doing so.

"Do you really want to know?"

"Do you think I'd ask if I don't want to?" Was his sarcastic answer. Yes he could be sarcastic sometimes, and he rejected it now after seeing her flush in front of him, completely embarrassed. Ok now he was unsure she'll give her an answer.

"You don't have to tell-"

"I'll tell you but you have to promise not to laugh." Surprised at the sudden change of tone and look she gave him, he could only nod and promise as well. She was dead serious. Where was the childish/ childlike girl before?

The girl gave out a loud sigh before continuing.

"This duck." She put it in front of his face for emphasis then put it down again. "Is the only creature that could cure my Granny."

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"I know! I know its crazy as hell! I didn't believe it as well but… if that's the only way to save her from death what else can I do?" She couldn't stop the warm liquid from her eyes and let it fell before laughing at herself. Shishido on the other hand didn't know how to take the situation; he'll probably be laughing his heart out if it came from one of his team mates or some other person. But it's different right now. It was a really weird and probably unbelievable answer she got there but, somehow, all he could do was believe her. And probably the right word was… pity. He pitied her, even though it was the most unbelievable, extraordinary, weirdest, and most confusing answer he ever heard in his entire life. Guess you could say he's crazy as her.

"Well, looks like I have to go now. I still have a Granny to save!" Seeing that he was looking at her more then usual, she broke the silence between them. She softly laughed before bowing then gave him one last bright smile before turning to leave. She would surely never forget this man. The only man who had showed her the kindness she never thought she would receive from this place. The very first man that attracted her long closed heart. And the very first man she fell in love with. If that's even love she got there in her. Oh well, too bad she doesn't deserve in his civilized and modern world.

"Are you sure you're going back to your village at this time of the night?" looking back, she saw his face filled with confusion. Sure she's going home. What does he expect? Her hanging around when in any time now her Granny could die? She doesn't think so.

She gave her a look, a look he quickly understood. Looking at his watch, he knew he still had a lot of time. He got the whole night. And with that, he made his way to his car and opened the passenger seat. Now it was the time for her to be confused.

"Come on! We don't have much time!" he said irritatingly making the girl flinch and briskly walked towards the car. She eyed him for a second; earning her a growl and gentle push to the car. Guess she already passed the limit of his patience. She can't blame him; the man was working for so many hell hours! He's probably too tired to handle her childlike moves.

Going around the car and seating at the driver's seat, he saw her sat uncomfortably. Who wouldn't if some stranger just pushed you inside a car without even asking if it was alright to take you home? But who would if it was someone as hot as Shishido?

"Shishido Ryou." Just when he was about to turn the engine on, he offered his hand. The girl stared at him; no one could explain the confusion on her face. She had faced so many confusing acts for this day. She stayed silent while the man in front of her just held out his hand.

"I said my name is Shishido Ryou." Understanding his indirect but obviously direct way of introducing himself, she took his hand and did the same.

"Ai Minagawa." She introduced herself with a smile and he just looked at something in the air as if he just realized something in it.

They stayed like that for a while, Shishido still holding and in a daze and her staring at him. That time gave her the moment to study his features more. If only she couldn't feel his soft hand, she might have thought he was just a painting made by some perfectionist artist, for he was just explicitly perfect in every angle. Moving her eyes from the tip of his top most hair towards his lips she knew he was far more than perfect. His lips, she wondered and tilting her head to the side, were they as soft and sweet as marshmallows?

"Ai means Love, right?"

"Huh?" was the only word she could utter. She was too much drowned in her own thoughts; she didn't notice he was already looking at her. Crap! Did he saw her looking at his lips? What if he did and might think she's a pervert or a stupid fan girl pretending to be an innocent country girl? She can't be caught! She was innocent! She promised!

"You're name means love." Sighing in relief when she heard this, she knew he didn't catch her.

"Yes." As if receiving the only answer he needed, he sat back up and let go of her hand. Ai, on the other hand, felt a sudden surge of unknown emotion on her chest. Was that… disappointment? She shook her head no.

"Should we get going then… Ai?" And Shishido turn on the engine and made the car go.

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"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" hitting the steering wheel with his hands, Shishido again tried to turn on the engine. But the car could only make a sound which was very unpleasant to the ears but wouldn't completely turn on.

"Come on! Come on!" hoping it would pity him and at last cooperate, he tried again and again. He even lost count on how many times he'd been doing that process.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!"

Ai could only make few glances on the boy inside the yellow car. She knew that Shishido was now on his limit and one wrong move she made would make the guy go wild. They had been there for quite some time now. The stupid-metal-thingy-with-wheels-that-only-knew-how-to-stop-and-go, as Shishido called it, just stopped on its own, leading them to their current situation.

"Shishido-san."

"WHAT?" Ai flinched at the sudden terror his voice brought. How she predicted that would come? It was the complete opposite of the guy she knew that morning. Anyhow, she wouldn't be scared of it for somehow, she knew the boy meant no harm.

"M-maybe you could rest for a while. Our village is not far away now." But a few curses were all she could get in response. She could only sigh; she knew the guy wasn't listening. Slightly tilting her head to the said, she was surprised when the silent cursing and the noise the car emitted stopped. Perhaps, Shishido finally gave up.

As she leaned down to take a peek on the car window, she saw the boy did stopped his attempt to make the car go and was now only sitting with his head leaned against the back of the driver's seat, his face priceless, totally defeated. As if he just discovered he was the dumbest person on earth. She looked at him, and he responded quickly at her confused stare.

"I should have known."

_Should have known what? _Was all she could think of.

**And the second chapter is done. Longer than the last time. Nyahaha! Please review! Please! T.T**


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